DIY Greenery Garland Using Eucalyptus Leaves

by Emma Jeffery

An eye-catching greenery garland is a beautiful way to bring natural elements into your home. Making it yourself has never been easier – even if you're new to using greenery in your home décor displays.

DIY Greenery Garland Using Eucalyptus Leaves
Tools used

While you can create a garland for any season in your home, I wanted to make a version that brought in the colors of the holiday season, with deep reds and lots of green. I also choose foliage and materials that would last for a long time in my home. Because I wasn't going to preserve my garland bundles with little pipettes filled with water, I looked for greens that would dry nicely, keep their color and scent and wouldn't disintegrate quickly.

I also wanted a subtle, more earth-toned garland rather than one filled with flowers that carried lots of strong scents and varying colors. To keep mine a bit more neutral, I looked at using a few different varieties of eucalyptus as well as some simple, easy to find items like apples, but you truly can make this project your own. Try adding in pinecones or intertwining battery-operated candles to add to the ambiance. Whatever you choose, this is a project that immediately elevates a mantle, dining room table or stairway railing. Try this out in your home today!

Materials needed:

  • Eucalyptus stems. Or other green, leafy stems—see section on alternatives below.
  • Additional natural elements like red berries or pinecones.
  • Wire
  • Twine

Five-step Greenery Garland

Step 1

Trim the greens.

Start by using a Fiskars® pruner to cut all the green stems to approximately 10" pieces. Simplify each stem by removing larger side shoots, but keep in mind it's okay for this project to look natural and organic – you don't want your garland over-manicured.

Each stem should look a bit different and carry a unique shape with varying leaves, colors and lengths. Using spiral eucalyptus will provide volume to your garland, whilst using silver dollar eucalyptus will provide length.

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Step 2

Group stems.

Grab five or six assorted greenery stems and wrap the paddle wire very tightly around the stalks of the bundle.

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Step 3

Join the stems to the twine.

Next, wrap the wire tightly around the twine, attaching the greenery to the twine. Do not cut the wire just yet as you will need some excess to join your bundles together but trim the twine with the Fiskars® snips as needed.

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Step 4

Create the garland.

Make another grouping of greenery stems and wrap it to the twine using the wire, a little lower down than the first bunch. Continue in this way until your garland has reached the desired length. Remember to clip the ends of your stems and continue to prune as you see fit to help the bundle ends to all reach the same length.

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Step 5

Dress the garland.

Adding flowers and other natural elements will provide the finishing touches to your beautiful garland. Intersperse red berries into your bundles to match the holiday season color palette, as well as other items such as red apples and pinecones. Place the garland wherever is best in your home – on a mantle as I did or through the center of your dining room table or a stairway railing to display.

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What can I use if I can't find eucalyptus?

  • Lavender would be a great substitute for eucalyptus. It will dry nicely inside your home and last for a long time while maintaining its green and subtle purple color – and it will smell just as nice, too!
  • Myrtle is another popular green foliage. It has a similar structure to eucalyptus in that it can be purchased in long stems that are bendable to fit into your different garland bundles. It also has a soft and subtle fragrance that is great for the holidays.
  • Leather leaf fern is a good option if you want a larger, even fuller garland. These leaves will last for up to three weeks and while they don't have any scent associated with them, they will certainly showcase a bright green end product.
  • Dagger fern is also known as the Christmas fern because they can be found in most flower shops during the winter season. They will carry their green color for a long time while drying and will pair very nicely if you keep the Italian ruscus leaves we used in this project.
  • Jade palms will give you a more tropical look, so try those as a substitute for a garland in the summer months.
  • Lemon leaf is a good filler as well, but because their stems are usually a bit smaller than eucalyptus you will need more of these stems to create a full garland.
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